Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) to a hold rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on EQ. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Equillium in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $5.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Equillium from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Equillium in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $3.00.

Equillium Trading Up 4.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:EQ opened at $1.82 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.82 million, a P/E ratio of -2.94 and a beta of 1.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $1.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.38. Equillium has a 12-month low of $0.27 and a 12-month high of $2.35.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Christine Zedelmayer sold 185,937 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.76, for a total transaction of $327,249.12. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 191,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $336,941.44. This trade represents a 49.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 328,174 shares of company stock valued at $533,163. 31.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Equillium

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its position in Equillium by 133.4% during the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 23,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 13,591 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Equillium by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 155,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 17,900 shares in the last quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd grew its stake in Equillium by 35.0% in the fourth quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd now owns 93,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 24,132 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in Equillium in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Equillium by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 345,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $535,000 after purchasing an additional 34,491 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.05% of the company’s stock.

About Equillium

Equillium, Inc (NASDAQ: EQ) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel immunotherapies to treat severe autoimmune diseases and prevent organ transplant rejection. The company’s lead therapeutic candidate, EQ001 (itolizumab), is a humanized monoclonal antibody that modulates T-cell activation by targeting the CD6 receptor. Equillium’s pipeline also includes additional biologic candidates aimed at addressing indications such as acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and lupus nephritis.

Founded in 2015 and headquartered in La Jolla, California, Equillium in-licensed itolizumab from Biocon Limited, leveraging the antibody’s established safety profile in earlier clinical studies.